Lululemon exec: Mental health is the ‘next major step in our journey’ – Yahoo Finance

Lululemon (LULU) has become a leader in promoting a healthy workplace culture.

Celeste Burgoyne, the companys EVP of Americas and Global Guest Innovation, made a pledge to promote and support mental wellness on Wednesday at the MAKERS Conference in Los Angeles.

MAKERS an organization that promotes and accelerates womens equality encourages board members to get on stage at its annual conference and commit to a specific goal to support accountability. Burgoyne, who is on the board, reflected on her pledges over the last three years.

We achieved 100% pay equity in 2018, a leading parenthood program offering up to six months paid leave [for both mothers and fathers] in 2019, and our senior leadership team is comprised of 60% women as of today. The next major step in our journey is leading the way in mental wellbeing because we know in order to be 100% authentically you, you need to be well. In 2020, we commit to offering our people leading mental health benefits, and providing training to all people managers so that they are equipped to support mental health conversations, she said.

Amid a relatively tight labor market, these offerings are critical in attracting high caliber talent.

This mental health pledge is really in our journey in... being the number one place that people come to work and develop as leaders, she added.

Sign on facade at Lululemon athleisure clothing store on Santana Row in the Silicon Valley, San Jose, California, December 14, 2019. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

Founded in 1998 as a womens yoga pants retailer, Lululemon has morphed into a dual gender brand, catering to both male and female consumers. Still, of the companys 20,000 global employees, 78% are women. And over 320 people, 200 of whom are store employees, have so far taken advantage of a gender neutral policy that gives up to three months of paid parental leave to employees who have been with the company for at least two years.

Lululemons internal focus on being gender neutral, providing both men and women equal opportunity and access to parental leave benefits, mirrors that of its business.

One of our big goals is growing our mens business. We do see doubling our mens business in the next four years, and were really doing that by continuing to connect with communities and connect people. Mens is a huge opportunity for us, Burgoyne said.

In the third quarter, revenue from mens apparel grew 38%. In 2018, the companytold investorsthat 21% of Lululemons $3.3 billion in sales last year came from mens products.

Disclaimer: MAKERS and Yahoo Finance are both part of Verizon Media.

Melody Hahm is Yahoo Finances west coast correspondent, covering entrepreneurship, technology and culture. Follow her on Twitter@melodyhahm.

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Lululemon exec: Mental health is the 'next major step in our journey' - Yahoo Finance